to show the gunman with his sister hours before he killed her and eight other people also tonight, backlash against fitness chains equinox and soul cycle, why their billionaire owner is taking heat. celebrities calling for a boycott, customers using their wallets to send a message. breaking news in the manhunt for two teens wanted in a killing spree, the grisly discovery bringing the search to an end tonight daycare danger, the alarming number using sleepers linked to dozens of deaths >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening we begin with a nation on edge several frightening scares revealing our fragile state on the heels of three deadly mass shootings in a week's time the sound of a backfiring motorcycle enough to send thousands fleeing in panic through new york's times square last night and then today, the virginia offices housing "usa today" were evacuated after an unfounded report of a man with a gun anne thompson reports.

>> reporter: this is amerin peo terrified it's happening in their town >> i thought i was going to watch my daughter get shot down in front of me >> reporter: workers evacuated today at gannett virginia headquarters, after a report of a former employee with a gun >> we do have a lot of police now approaching the front of the building >> reporter: authorities found no evidence of violence. but similar scenes across the country. panic in new york's times square last night, emma heaton capturing the moment that set off the stampede >> people were tripping over each other, kids on the floor, shoes all over the place >> reporter: seeking safety wherever they could find it. nbc news lindsey wolfson saw the fear firsthand >> the first instinct was oh, my god, this is an attack mkingbir" actor gideon glick tweeting screaming civilians tried to storm our theater for safety

the audience starting screaming and the cast fled the stage. this is th near salt lake city, shoppers ran for cover at west valley mall, mistaking a falling sign for gunshots >> be quiet. >> reporter: these preschoolers in san diego preparing for the real thing 3 and 4-year-olds in an active shooter drill. the cold war's duck and cover drills for a nuclear attack replaced by an all-too-real danger back now in times square where new york city police officers keep a consistent presence with heavy weapons teams you can see and undercover officers you can't. that is true again tonight lester >> those rattled nerves understandable anne, thank you. prid dayton and el paso today, cities deeply wounded and deeply divided over whether to welcome the president. kristen welker has more from el paso >> reporter: tonight president trump in two cities devastated e

also went room to room, talking to survivors these images captured by the white house. reporters were not allowed in. >> i think the victims and the first responders were grateful that the president of the united states came to dayton. >> reporter: and aiming to strike a note of unity in el paso >> everybody is talking about it and i wanted to thank you. >> reporter: some critics say he shouldn't have come, that his address to the nation earlier this week -- >> in one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. >> reporter: -- was overshadowed by his divisive language on race and on latino migration. >> that's an invasion. it is an invasion. you know that. >> trump's anger, hate and divisiveness, and doing nothing, nothing. >> this community needs to heal, does not need more division from this president >> reporter: the president defending himself morning >> my critics are political people

they're trying to make points. in many cases they're running ry low in the polls >> reporter: tonight in el paso people are in mourning and divided. >> i think we need to hear from him, what he's going to do >> do you think the president should be visiting today >> no. he calls us everything in the book and then to come, you know, we don't -- pardon me, we don't forget what he said about us and what he's created here >> reporter: and on his way here to el paso, the president escalating feuds with his political rivals, calling out joe biden and beto o'rourke by lester >> all right kristen welker, thank you. we're learning more about both mass shootings tonight including 911 calls just released, the heroes who helped save people, and new insights about the suspects we have two reports beginning with gabe gutierrez in dayton. shortly before his rampage. this surveillance video obtained by cnn shows him at a nearby bar with a woman that appears to be

his sister police say about an hour later he would open fire, killing her and eight others as people ran for their lives. >> we have an active shooter on 5th street >> there were shots and everybody laid down. i don't know where my friends are. >> reporter: for the first time the gunman's family is out with a written statement read by police, saying they're shocked and devastated >> they offer their most heartfelt prayers and condolences to all the victims, their families, and friends. >> reporter: lindsay dahl said she dated the gunman in high school, and he told her he heard voices >> the voices told him to harm others he was afraid he would end up harming others, which is absolutely haunting now. >> reporter: should people have paid more atten flags? >> yes, absolutely >> reporter: 57-year-old derek fudge was the oldest victim. he died in his son's arms. >> he just stopped moving. we got to get out of here, but he never got up. i just laid on top of him and

hugged him and kept telling him i love you >> reporter: here, the loss is unimaginable so is the strength gabe gutierrez, nbc news, dayton, ohio >> reporter: i'm miguel almaguer in el paso. tonight for a community grieving, the walmart parking lot is a symbol of both heartbreak and hope. 22 lives were lost here, but many more were saved >> i passed by the store today for the first time and i just got a bunch of ks >> help! >> reporter: when gilbert serna realized gunfi the walmar rushing dozens of people out of back doors as shots grew louder, serna ushered more than 150 customers into shipping containers, perh they're running out of the fire exits. s reporter: tonight, a set to begin friday.

miguel almaguer, nbc news, el paso, texas. and with pressure growing on lawmakers, it appears there may be momentum tonight to pass something known as red flag laws, less controversial than other gun laws it would allow police to remove weapons temporarily from people who might be a threat. kate snow has more on that tonight. >> reporter: as communities grieve and demand action, republican senator lindsey graham plans to introduce a so-called red flag bill with support from democrats and the president. >> we're not trying to take 're the hands of people who are dangerous who might kill themselves or somebody else. >> reporter: red flag laws exist extreme risk protection or >> are there any firearms in person who's a danger to this house >> reporter: in indiana all these guns were confiscated in a four-month period. >> my son lives with paranoid schizophrenia and when he's not on his medication, he becomes

incredibly aggressive and violent. >> reporter: darlene patrick lives in maine where the state voted against the measure last year her son is doing well right now, but twice she's had to figure out how to keep weapons out of his home >> reporter: if you had a way to call the police and make sure your son didn't have a firearm, what would that do for you >> well, that would give me some peace of mind, for sure, that he wasn't going to hurt himself or anyone else. it would also instill a lot of anxiety on what was going to happen to him afterwards >> reporter: the nra does not outright oppose red flag laws but wants due process protections which is what concerns colorado sheriff steve reams. >> they don't have a chance to defend themselves. they don't have a chance to plea their case >> reporter: and today concerns of a different kind from the senate democratic leader who called the proposed red flag measure tepid and not nearly enough >> is there any evidence that these red flag laws work to reduce the number of shootings >> reporter: early studies suggest that seizing guns can reduce suicide

but when it comes to homicides and mass shootings, the evidence is less clear so far advocates of stronger gun laws, lester, say they do favor these, because they think it does reduce deaths. >> kate, thanks very much. also tonight backlash is growing against equinox and soul cycle after it was revealed their billionaire owner is set to hold a fund-raiser for the president. stephanie gosk reports it has some celebrities calling for a boycott and customers canceling memberships. >> reporter: high-end fitness brand equinox gym got their members' heart rates racing in an entirely different way today. criticism and threats to boycott the gym and the spinning soul cycle when it came out the owner steven ross, is holding a lavish fund-raiser for president trump later this week. talk show host andy cohen raged outside a gym >> so, equinox and soul cycle are giving our money to the trump campaign >> reporter: but later added he was keeping his membership

>> it's everybody's right to give money to whatever candidate they want. >> reporter: equinox says neither equinox nor soul cycle have anything to do with the event and do not support it. in a statement, ross writes, i have always been an active participant in the democratic process. i have known donald trump for 40 years. while we agree on some issues, we strongly disagree on many others it's the latest example of people using their wallets as political hammers. some recently boycotted nike for removing a line of shoes with the betsy ross flag. and multiple studios have threatened to pull billions of dollars in business from georgia over that state's restrictive abortion laws. today was different, anger igniting not over an issue but financial support for an election campaign, raising the stakes for an already charged political climate. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york also breaking tonight, they're calling it the largest immigration raid in more than a decade

i.c.e. agents making 680 arrests at seven food processing plants in mississippi 600 agents carried out the sweeping raids in small towns around jackson where latino immigrants make up much of the workforce. tonight the international manhunt we've been following for two teens suspected in a killing spree has come to an end nbc's ron mott has late details for us >> reporter: for three weeks, two suspected teenage killers have evaded capture despite multiple sightings, including today, a break in the case authorities announced the discovery of two bodies in northern manitoba, believed to be 18-year-old bryer schmegelsky and 19-year-old kam mcleod >> i'm confident it is them, but to identify them officially and -- to be sure, we have to go to autopsy >> reporter: the teens were on the run after the deaths of three people, including american chynna deese and her australian boyfriend lucas fowler, both were shot to death, their bodies found july 15th. days later, leonard dyck, a

university lecturer found dead near a burned pick up truck the teens had been driving >> it's huge to be able to hopefully give some people an opportunity to exhale, not being afraid of who's out in the woods anymore. >> reporter: a killing spree apparently ending in the dense woods of the canadian wilderness far from where it began. ron mott, nbc news ahead for over 50 million people late today a tornado touching down in northern new jersey as severe storms take aim from north carolina to new hampshire. al roker is here al, where are the threats headed >> right now, lester, we're watching the radar we've got severe thunderstorms back through the great lakes, the central plains, and here in the east, major problems, high water rescues in philadelphia. 22 states, 60 million people from the great lakes, central plains, midlantic states on into the northeast. damaging winds really heavy rain and isolated tornados possible. rainfall amounts, two to three

inches from the delmarva peninsula all the way into new england. we've got airport delays, boston, new york, d.c., pittsburgh, and buffalo. 4,400 delays and cancellations, lester, and that number is just going to keep up as we move into tonight. lester >> all right, al, thank you. tonight one of america's biggest olympic stars is blasting usa gymnastics. ac four-time gold medalist simone biles at an event in kansas city today tearfully accused the organization of not doing enough to stop former team doctor, larry nasser, from sexually abusing them >> it's hard coming here for an organization and having had them failed us so many times. and we had one goal. we've done everything that they asked us for even when we didn't want to and they couldn't do one damn job you had one job. you literally had one job, and you couldn't protect us. >> biles and over 300 athletes have accused nasser of abuse he's serving a prison sentence

of up to 175 years in a statement usa gymnastics says it has, quote, made a lot of progress in strengthening our athlete safety measures and putting our athletes first but we know we have more to do the fbi is appealing for help from the public tonight su after a brazen armored car heist in philadelphia. surveillance video shows two robbers holding up a guard making an atm delivery and grabbing bags of cash. one seen jumping into the getaway car as guards fire at him. we've got a lot more ahead as we continue tonight why are so many daycare centers months after they were recalled? the new report every family should see also justice for all and freedom after half her life in prison for a woman who's murder conviction many thought was injustice. stay with us stay with us. l] (burke) at farmers insurance, we've seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a "three-ring fender bender."

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there are still child care businesses using recalled sleepers that were linked to dozens of deaths more on that from nbc's kristen dahlgren >> reporter: adam garber was shocked when he learned his son's daycare was still using the rock and play sleeper. after it had been recalled >> yeah, two months after the recall, it was still there in the infant room. >> reporter: the teacher told him she had no idea 4.7 million of the sleepers were pulled from the market in april after being. the daycare immediately stopped using it but garber, the consumer watchdog for the u.s. public interest group, began investigating if this was an isolated incident. looking at daycares across three states, the group discovered one in ten child care centers was ny wanted to keep those kids saa p typically find out through the adding it's often up for consumers to sign up for alerts and register their products with the manufacturer. >> these companies

media, adding it's often up to consumers to sign up for alerts and register their products with the manufacturer >> these companies have amazing direct marketing programs. they directly target us. we see the social media ads, twitter ads, online ads, so can't they use it to warn me about the danger in my home? >> reporter: the cpsc encourages everyone to sign up for the alerts and notifies state agencies that license child care providers about recalls. fisher price and kids2 say safety is the priority and both companies tell nbc news they notified consumers on multiple platforms to inform them about the recent recall as well as alerting retailers kids2 adding its products were designed and marketed for single family use only. still, today's findings, sparking fears that nationwide there could be more babies at risk and their caregivers unaware. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york and in a moment, her murder case led to national outrage now she is free after spending half her life in prison. her murder case led to national outrage. now she is free after spending half her life in prison. the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock.

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back now with our series "justice for back now with our series "justice for all" and the extraordinary second chance for a tennessee woman who is serving life in prison released today to start her life again our ron allen has details. >> reporter: tonight, cyntoia brown is enjoying her first day of freedom in 15 years, revealing she's written a memoir and gotten married in prison her knew name cyntoia brown long with word of her release at 3:20

a.m., an attorney texting she is free hallelujahhe the most amazing transformation of a human being. >> reporter: she's now 31, sentenced to life for murder at age 16 prosecutors say she shot a man she was trying to rob. but and killed in self-defense the case inspired a documentary and ignited national outrage, #freecyntoiabrown. calling the sentence too harsh, calling the sentence former tennessee governor commuted it. >> she really had, you know, done what we hoped and changed her life one of the first things cyntoia said when we walked in to see her in prison was "i won't let you down." >> she earned a high school diploma and two college degree while mentoring young offenders. >> i've seen students be released i've seen them work in juvenile justice settings using their narrative to help other people >> reporter: exactly what she

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finally tonight the mystery that caught our attention from poland over the babies being born in finally tonight the mystery that caught our attention from poland over the babies being born ion here's keir simmons. >> reporter: in a village with only one road, they've been having only one kind of baby, girls. a boy hasn't been born here in almost a decade. residents don't know how to account for it perhaps it's the coincidence maybe it's the diet. one thing appears certain, it's not a problem. the local youth volunteer fire department is mostly female and is loved by residents. and many farm workers here are women too.

perhaps it's not a huge anomaly. after all only 272 folks live here while the total number of girls born since boys disappeared is 12. hardly a baby boom but they would like to have a few more boys around the mayor even offered a reward to the couple who has a baby boy. keir simmons, nbc news >> we'll see what happens. that's "nightly news." i'm lester holt. steve: my man! hey, drew? you've got three daughters who re still single. >> there was one guy, he was like a son to me. i was like, this dude is awesome. and she was like, we broke up. steve: i had one dude like that too. i was hurt. she posted a video that's received nearly three million views. george, where the hell were you? announcer: put your hands together for your host, steve harvey! [cheers and applause] steve: thank you very much.

i appreciate that. my man. thank y'all. well, let me ask you a question, if you're dating someone, how long do you think it takes for you to know that this person is the one? >> three years. [laughter] steve: the black dude said three years. i've got to check it out. i can't rush into nothing, steve. i've been married before. i need three years. well, most married people said his is a study that it takes 172 days for you to determine if you wanted to marry the person you're dating. 72 days.

that's almost six months. i'm going to tell you something you is something about men. this is how men know she's the one. if your saman out in public holding your hand and he gets in a disagreement with somebody and he's still holding your hand, say, man, what? you get back over there, you don't know! you don't be talking to me like that -- stay back there, baby! that's what i said. stay behind me, baby. i got[applause] here's another one to know she's the one. if she makes your favorite meal, the one your mama always made you, but she don't make it nothing like your mama made it, but you eat it anyway, oh, yeah,

oh, yeah, she the one. oh, yeah. i'll tell you -- [applause] [laughr]